Every Kiss Begins with
by jankmusic
Summary: Sherlock Holmes and John Watson go shopping for Molly Hooper's engagement ring. The whole process is more frustrating than Sherlock was anticipating, but John saves the day in the end.—Part of the One-a-Day Challenge


Every Kiss Begins with…

Prompt: Advertisement

Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock.

* * *

"It's an honor to be shopping with you today, Sherlock Holmes."

"Shut up, John."

"But really—"

"John—"

"I'm just saying as your future best man—"

"If you don't stop teasing me, I'll ask Anderson to be my best man!"

There was silence for nearly ten seconds, and then, "But it's really cute that you're stressed about—"

"That's it! I'm calling him now!"

John dissolved into giggles beside Sherlock in the back of the cab and despite his annoyance with his friend, Sherlock laughed softly. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the window. He heard crinkling beside him and glanced from the corner of his eye to see John looking at the list Sherlock made a few days ago.

"So we're going to all of these places today?" John ran his thumb over the hastily scribbled establishments written on the paper.

_-Tiffany's_

_-Astley Clarke _

_-Mappin & Webb_

_-Fraser Hart_

"Yes but hopefully no." Sherlock glanced at the list before returning his gaze out the window. "First is Fraser Hart. The manager of that establishment owes me a favor after I deduced which of his employees took part in a major robbery a few years ago. I would prefer to find the ring there because shopping is tedious."

John shook his head and folded the paper back up before slipping it back into his pocket. "And what made you decide that today was the day for your engagement ring shopping?"

Sherlock looked away from the window. "I saw an advertisement for an American company. No doubt their slogan was difficult to create. Every kiss begins with—Kay; who could have deduced that? Other than the entire population of this planet, obviously." He shook his head in annoyance and John could see that he was struggling to not roll his eyes.

The two giggled softly in the back of the cab. Then they lapsed into silence for the remainder of their journey.

* * *

"Greetings Mr. Holmes! And is this who we're shopping for today?"

A young blond woman met Sherlock and John at the door and smiled at them brightly. She managed to show all of her teeth in her smile, which was a bit disconcerting. The two men exchanged glances and then John held up his left hand. "I'm already taken, ma'am. He's shopping for his fiancée. I'm just here for moral support."

She seemed unfazed by her error and kept smiling. The entire store was empty besides a few well-dressed employees who looked like they were waiting for them. They were led through the store, past brightly lit display cases, nervous men and women, and finally through a door that led to offices in the back. The woman took them to a room and opened the door for them. "Mr. Mould has pulled our most popular rings from our collection. If you need assistance, just call and an associate will be with you immediately."

"Thank you," Sherlock said with a smile, but as soon as they were alone, he dropped it and rolled his eyes. "Idiots, the lot of them." He unwound his scarf from around his neck and began unbuttoning his coat. "I asked to have free reign over their displays not to be shoved in a back room with the most expensive jewelry they have." He waved his hand in the air and then placed his coat and scarf on the back of one of the two chairs in the spacious room. There were six long tables in the middle of the room, each table top covered with different sparkling rings. "We need to disregard anything that isn't platinum."

"Right, because she works with her hands so much," John said, looking around. He eyed some of the rings, his eyes widening at the prices of some of them. He could see that nearly half of the jewelry was no longer an option with their gold bands.

"Precisely. And anything _you_ would deem ostentatious is put in the rubbish pile as well."

John walked around the tables and let out a low whistle. "Some women actually wear this? The diamond's literally big enough to weigh down Molly's hand."

They worked methodically for nearly two hours, looking at rings, discussing the diamonds, and then placing the jewelry back in their place. Sherlock was immensely dissatisfied with his options, progressively getting more and more agitated as he and John moved about the room.

When Sherlock huffed and rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time, John pointed to the chairs. "Let's take a break, okay?" Sherlock didn't even bother to protest, he just crossed the room and sat down in the chair where he placed his coat and scarf.

"What exactly are you looking for, then? You've shot down all of my suggestions and you haven't been too happy with your selections either."

Sherlock was quiet a moment, as if he was gathering the information from his Mind Palace. Then he sat up a little straighter and said, "Molly and I are not what normal people would consider "traditional"." He paused for a moment, and John nodded his head for him to continue. "I am the most frustrating and untraditional boyfriend Molly has ever had and despite that, she loves me for all of my faults and peculiarities. I at least owe her a more common engagement ring and wedding. But all of this," he gestured to their surroundings, "isn't her."

John pursed his lips and was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Well, one thing you have to understand is that Molly isn't expecting any of this from you; she fell in love with you because you're a giant idiot and over think things." Both men laughed, and John was pleased to see Sherlock relax just a bit. "But seriously, just stop and look around. Why wouldn't Molly like half of this crap?"

"Because it's too flamboyant. She isn't some celebrity who wants to show off her ring to the press. She's just Molly Hooper, my pathologist."

"And what would Molly Hooper, your pathologist, like?"

"Simple. And pink," Sherlock said honestly.

John raised a skeptical eyebrow but didn't say anything. They sat in silence for several long minutes, and then Sherlock got up and crossed the room, standing over the only table they hadn't looked at yet. He halfheartedly began sifting through the jewelry, his mind more focused on the fact that this task was a lot harder than he had been anticipating.

Suddenly, John stood to his feet. "Well, you got your wish! You're going to get the ring here, just like you wanted, and it isn't even in the room. Follow me, I think I know exactly what you need."

And with that, John swept out of the room and for the first time in their friendship, it was Sherlock Holmes grabbing his coat and scarf, chasing after his friend.

_Fin._

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BB/N: Oh my goodness! I apologize for the surprising hiatus that I accidentally took! I haven't had internet at my home on top of traveling and visiting friends, so I haven't had much time to sit down and write. I'm super far behind in my One-a-Day Challenge, but I've decided I'm just going to pretend the last week hasn't happened, and I'm still on schedule! :)

This story will have a sequel, it just won't be posted for a few days. (By coincidence, I have a prompt that really works with this one!)

Thank you for reading, as always!

-Janet


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